THIS is the top Birmingham doctor being investigated for allegedly falling asleep during an operation, the Evening Mail can reveal today.

Anaesthetist Dr Chris Vella Bonnici has been named by colleagues at Selly Oak Hospital as the doctor at the centre of the sleeping claims.

Six separate hospital sources confirm the consultant in his 50s, from Bromsgrove, has been suspended after allegedly nodding off in the operating theatre during surgery last month.

Bonnici, who is from Malta, qualified as a doctor in 1973 in his home country but has worked at the Birmingham hospital for at least ten years.

He has also carried out private work as an anaesthetist across the city.

Shocked operating assistants are believed to have snapped the sleeping medic on the camera of their mobile phone and handed the photo over to hospital bosses. But University Hospital Trust, which manages the hospital, has still declined to comment.

A spokeswoman said the trust could not deny or confirm whether Dr Bonnici had been suspended on full pay.

She added: "An investigation is under way."

Under NHS guidelines, suspension does not attribute guilt but is a neutral act that is justified while an investigation takes place following an allegation of sufficient seriousness.

Health watchdogs, including head of Birmingham City Council's health scrutiny committee, Deirdre Alden, have expressed concern over the claims if proved correct.

"Something like this could really knock patient confidence and the hospital needs to carry out a thorough investigation very quickly," said Coun Alden. "We need reassurance that this will be dealt with properly and not pushed under the carpet."